


Among The Flowers

by sincerelybummie



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Romance, BAMF Haruno Sakura, Bijuu as family, F/M, Family & Fluff, Founding of Konoha, Incarnation & Reincarnation, Kurama as a Father, Multi, Sage Mode! Sakura, Strong Haruno Sakura, Warring States Period (Naruto)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-28
Updated: 2018-02-04
Packaged: 2019-03-09 22:30:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13491138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sincerelybummie/pseuds/sincerelybummie
Summary: “When you think of me, when you miss me, search among the flowers and there you will find me.”All Sakura has ever known were the Biju that raised her. But then she met a certain human.And her life changed.





	1. Prologue.

 "As long as I live and breathe, I will curse the world that took you from me."

* * *

_"I don't know what you see in that man."_

_Her laugh was loud yet delicate, her eyes contorted into the half moons for that familiar eye smile that Kurama can never get enough of. She didn't say anything and he only let out a huff and closed his eyes once again, letting her finish weaving the flowers she had gathered to make a large enough flower crown that she will soon be placing on him._

_"He's nice, papa." Sakura replied only after finishing the crown of flowers and like he predicted, had placed it right on top of his head. He didn't say nothing as she ran her fingers through his fur and when he cracked on eye open when she suddenly stopped, she was smiling that bright smile of hers. "I wish you can see that."_

_Kurama nudged her with his nose before he lifted his head from the paws they were resting on him, staring down at the pink haired girl that he had raised since infancy with a stern look. She flinched at the knowing look that he was giving her and adverted her eyes, choosing to stare straight ahead at her father's red-orange fur. Bottom lip between her teeth, Sakura braced herself for the all too familiar lecture he was about to bestow on her._

_"Humans can't be trusted, Sakura-hime."_

_She didn't say anything for awhile and the nine-tailed fox let out of sigh, knowing that he had hurt her feelings and brought one of his tails to wrap around her in comfort and with his large hand, ruffled the pink tresses of her hair. Sakura huffed in annoyance and shoved his hand away and her father figure chuckled. Silence enveloped them as she fixed her hair and then Sakura's emerald eyes were now staring straight into his red ones and Kurama waited for her to speak up._

_"I'll change your mind. I swear I will." Her hands balled to tiny fists at her sides and the determination of her statement showed on her face._

_Expression grim, Kurama chose not to say anything and stared off into the distance for awhile as he absorbed her words. The sun was setting behind the horizon, the field they currently stand in being dyed an orange hue and the way the rays of the descending sun formed made the pink haired girl glow in front of him, as if she was an ethereal being. His reply was worth it to him when Sakura beamed at him, warm and happy, like the sun itself._

_"Prove me wrong, little blossom."_

 

* * *

  **Find me among the flowers that bloom on this earth.**

 

 

 

 

 

 

They say time heals all wounds, that in due time your heart will mend itself.

 

But it's been 80 years since the wound on his heart had been afflicted and it hasn't once closed up since _her_ death. Betrayed, captured, controlled and now sealed, he lays in the depths of a dark abyss inside of his human host. Loneliness building and rage scalding hot, his whole body is consumed by the flames of his broken heart and a desire so hot swells in his unfortunate, still beating heart; Revenge. It's the only thing that keeps him going.

The world is cruel, ruthless and unjust and Kurama knows it enjoys him being caged and so broken after all these years. He can hear _her_ laugh ringing in his ears still, _her_ scent lingers still after all these years and he could still see _her_ smile, a smile that lit up a room and warmed a person's soul, being and core. It was such a beautiful smile the way _her_ green eyes will close into little crescents and how the sun bathed _her_ in this glow that was entirely and uniquely _hers_. Yes, the world was indeed cruel. Even after all these years, where ever he goes, whatever he feels, he is reminded of _her_. 

And his anger and hatred continues to bubble and grow. 

_Gone._

_gone._

_g o n E._

_She was GONE._

Teeth bared and growling, eyeing the seal on the cage that has taunted him in every day since he has been prisoned away, all he can do is wait. There was nothing he could do while he was locked away. Even if he _tried_ , the Uzumaki's had ensured extra measures just incase a situation arises that breaks the seal. _Damn them,_ he cursed. He cursed every last one of them, damns their whole clan to suffer and to eternal damnation. He curses them like he cursed the Uchiha's and the Senju's. The three that betrayed him and sealed him away. The Three clans that took everything from him. From his freedom to his siblings and to _her_. And once again anger overcomes him and bile rises in his throat at the thought of _her_. They took everything from him, they took his whole world.

The day he he can break free from the confines of his prison, he will seek revenge out against all those who kept him lock away. He will make sure everyone will suffer and feel the pain he has suffered all these years of mourning. Because nothing will bring back the daughter he had lost to to the hands of those wretched and power hungry humans. The Uchiha, Senju and Uzumaki will suffer his wrath, along with those residing in the village that was built for their so called  _peace._ The _peace_ that those wretched clan heads raved about when they decided to end their feud and build a village to prove their unity and how they were going to change the world, the very one that took his Sakura away from this world and him. Her life was the cost for this _peace._

He told her that humans could not be trusted.

Kurama knew he shouldn't have trusted them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I done did it.


	2. Spring child

"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal."

* * *

 

There were temples for the nine of them scattered across different regions of the world, built to serve as protection and as their home. 

 

Humans would make the long trek to visit the temples of the nine Bijū. No matter the distance in which the temple was located, which country it resided in, no matter the weather, they pressed on on their journey to give their offerings to them. The people would pray to them, worship them and hoped by doing all this for them that the Bijū would be there in mankind's time of need; protect them from war and maintain the peace. Man's worshipping and visiting their temples continued for generations until their demands became greedier and desires more power hungry, the once vast swarm of traveling to the temples dwindled to nothing. Times had changed and so did the people.

Over the centuries, mankind failed to acknowledge that the Bijū were only here to maintain and bring balance to the peace of the world. Humans began to fear them, disdain towards the beasts grew and now, humans have begun hunting them relentlessly. The Nine were labeled as monsters, demons and mindless animals and mans greed grew like no other as the desire to capture one of The Nine and use them as a weapon for power, to resort them as nothing more than a _tool_ rather than a sapient being that _feels_ like humans do, it was only a matter of time before the Bijū decided to strike back. They grew tired of their treatment, resented it and came to hate the humans they were once told they had to protect.

They finally became the monsters that the people so desperately tried to paint them as.

* * *

 

Kurama smelled her before he saw her.

 

Her blood was thick in the air as the wind carried it to him and the temple he took refuge in. Her chakra was just a small ember, growing weaker as she made her descent closer to him. He could smell her life force leaving her with every step she took but the determination in her eyes could burn down a whole nation. He was intrigued, yes, of this red headed women who cradled something to her chest as a trail of blood was left behind her. It drenched the pretty kimono she had but the bundle was spared of the crimson liquid. She trudged through the water and tried to get back on the land, but with the bottom half of her kimino drenched, it weighed her down and prevented her from stepping foot on the field consumed of flowers. With every move she tried to make, her pained and frustrated cries rang throughout the field and then she just collapsed. Feet still in the water and body laying on the land, she rested the bundle in her arms next to her and started to cry.

Humans were a complicated thing.

And maybe that is why Kurama drew weary of them. He didn't particularly like them nor did he particularly dislike them, but he knew he could never _trust_ them. He has observed them for _years_ , all the time in the world at his finger tips, and has witness mankind evolve over the years and yet, they always seem to take a few steps backwards. Forward and back, forward and back. Like how the ocean rocks a boat. The few interactions, no scratch that. All his interactions with humans have led to him being attacked and ended up with blood that was not his own. He has destroyed villages, destroyed homes and killed families. He wanted to be left alone, but the humans kept going after him. So power hungry that it drove him mad. His disdain towards humans only grew.

So, why is it that he's standing before the woman in the form of a human? His hair is long and unruly, a darker shade of red than the woman's. Spiky maroon colored hair graced his head with two long pieces framing his face and reaching a little ways past his collarbone and the rest of his hair stops at his waist, losing it spikiness along the way. Three whisker marks are on both of his cheeks, his ears are pointed, nails long and sharp and his eyes are still that menacing red. Kurama's human form is dressed in a simple white kimono with a long sleeved red haori atop. The hem of the haori is laced with a flame design orange in color that decorates only the bottom and opening of his haori and is held together by a simple black rope. 

The woman stares up at him with tear stained cheeks and bright blue eyes, captivated by the man standing above her. He was handsome, _too_ handsome and her breath hitches. She feels ashamed to be seen in her worst and how the heavens could be so cruel to let such a handsome man see her in such a state, bleeding out and dying. She starts to laugh, it really was cruel. The red haired woman watches as his face scrunches up in confusion at her outburst and her sky blue eyes examine his features more closely, noting the whiskers and his pointed ears. No wonder he was so handsome, he wasn't even human but she was not scared of him. He came out to see her, after all.

"Your name, what is your name?" she says softly and he grunts, eyeing her. 

"I go by many names. Beast, Monster, Murderer, Blood thirsty," he is interrupted when she coughs, blood staining her hands and her chin. His narrowed red eyes soften up a bit. "But my creator named me Kurama." She lets out a hum in response, lips lifting up at the corner to flash him the best smile she could muster in her current predicament. "That is a wonderful name, Kurama. It suits you."

"Hn." is all he says.

"My name is Sumire and this," she gestures towards the bundle next to her and reaches over to unveil a bundled up sleeping child with the most obnoxious pink colored hair he has ever seen. He could only take a guess in what her name could be, seeing as though her bright pink hair resembled the flowers that had just recently bloomed this spring only two days ago. "This is Sakura. She's only two days old but isn’t she the prettiest little girl?" He called it.

"Hn."

"Her eyes are the prettiest shade of green and she's such a good girl, so sweet and tiny, a cry baby but she's so beautiful. she's so," Sumire trails off and starts to sob and Kurama stands there uncomfortable but doesn't want to leave. "She's my pride and joy." She finally finishes through her tears. Kurama says nothing and just listens to her as she tells him her story. How Sumire escaped her home and her village as it was attacked by a joint force of bandits and shinobi. They slaughtered her people, her friends, her family and her husband. She watched as they killed innocent children and assaulted woman of all ages, no matter how young. And to protect her newborn child from a similar fate, she took all the attacks thrown at her and managed to escape. Severely wounded and bleeding, she pushed through the pain and headed towards the temple her mother told housed a powerful being that protected humans. And here she was, bleeding out in a field of flowers and dyeing them crimson. 

"Kyūbi no Yōko," she was running out of time and held her hand up out to him. Kurama stood stiff.  _So she found out, huh?_ he thought as he eyed her outstretched hand. He doesn't know what compelled him to kneel before the woman and have her hand cup his cheek, her hand was cold as she rubbed her thumb across the whisker marks on his face and smiles up at the wide eyed fox. He doesn't know what compelled him to cover the hand on his cheek with his own hand and squeeze it, like a silent plea to keep fighting. With her free hand she fished out a necklace that was hidden underneath her kimino and yanked it out, holding it out for him to take. Sumire dropped the necklace in his free palm, a necklace with a cherry blossom pendant. "Kyūbi no Yōko- No. Kurama-san. Please, please. Take care of my Sakura for me, okay? Please tell her that she was loved so much, that her mother loved her so much-," Tears gathered up in her sky blue eyes once again and Kurama felt his throat constrict and his mouth grew dry. She kept stroking his cheek with her thumb and he squeezed tighter. "That my only regret is that I couldn't watch her grow up."

The fox nodded dumbly. He doesn't understand it, this feeling in his chest. He was supposed to hate the humans, for all they did to him and his siblings the pass thousand years. For the isolation they caused and the pain that loneliness brought because of them. He _hated_ them. Then why is his heart hurt for this woman, why is he reaching out for her? Why does he pity this woman? Sumire gives him her biggest smile yet and his breath hitches in his throat, his neutral facade doesn't drop but she can see it in his eyes, the inner turmoil he was fighting inside. "You're no monster, Kurama. It must have been terrible to be all alone, for all these years." He swallowed the lump in his throat

They were the same, him and her. Alone and scared. 

"You have my word," he starts off slow, unsure and pauses. Red eyes found blue and then he knew his answer. "You have my word. I will keep her safe. I'll make sure she's loved and I'll make sure," He stops again as tears start streaming down her face once more, the smile never leaving her face. "That she knows what you did to keep her alive. I will make sure, that she knows that you loved her." The mother is laughing through her tears and holds Kurama's hand in her own, bringing it to her lips and kisses it, smile not once leaving her face and eyes full of gratitude towards the fox. "You're the greatest friend. I could have asked for, Kurama."

"We're...Friends?" he asked and she nodded.

"Friends are people who understand each other's suffering," she whispered to him. "Friends are there to comfort your worst fears. Don't you think we make a great pair of friends?" The smiled she flashed at him this time wide, all bloody teeth and gums that Kurama couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his lips. What an intriguing woman and he gets to call her a friend. He had a friend. Kurama won't be alone, he has his friend with him- But she's dying. 

"Death doesn't end friendships, Kurama. I will watch over you from the afterlife, I will continue to be your friend even through death. Death does not mark the end, it marks a new beginning. Just because you can't see me, does not mean I am not with you. I am here," She points to his head and then runs her fingers through his dark red hair. "In your mind as you remember me and remember the memories that represent our time shared together. and I am also in here," Her hand is on his chest now, right where is heart is. "In your heart. Where my love for you resides and where your love for me resides as well. I am also in your eyes, where you can still see me, in your ears where you can still hear my voice, in your nose where you can still smell me and in your touch, where you can still feel me. I am always with you." Sumire touches all the places she listed as she speaks and takes his hand into her own and makes him cup her cheek. "Kurama-san. Thank you."

"Although our time was short, thank you," she's clutching his hand desperately. "Thank you for meeting me. Thank you for being here. Thank you. I'm sorry for burdening you, I'm sorry for your pain. I'm sorry for your loneliness. But what i'm truly sorry about," she's gasping for air and Kurama shushes her, whispering to her to calm down and take deep breaths. She can't seem to stop crying. Sumire hopes her daughter isn't a big of a cry baby like her. "What I'm most sorry about is for leaving you so soon." Kurama's heart squeezes. "But, this is my last gift to you," she gestures towards her daughter. "You won't be alone. You'll have a family and when you have a family of your own, someone to come home to, is the best feeling in the world."

The mother is struggling hard against the sweet clutches of death as it makes her eyelids heavy and dull the vibrant color of her blue eyes to a somber color. Her grip on the fox's hand starts to loosen slowly. "Having a family is like having your friends with you all the time. But don't forget that friends could also become your family as well. When you love someone, friend or family, they become more important than yourself." Her smile isn't as bright or as big anymore and she's no longer looking up at him anymore and is instead staring out at the field of flowers wistfully. Her head rests on his lap and Kurama looks in the directions she's staring at with her. "It's such a beautiful day to be surrounded by such pretty flowers." She murmurs and her grip finally loosens and falls to her side. She turns her head to the side to look at he daughter and smiles when she finds her awake, emerald eyes staring at the woman. "But you're the prettiest among the flowers, my little blossom." 

And she was gone. 

Surrounded by the warmth Kurama provided, her last memory being her daughter's smile and the feeling of the fox's thumb rubbing her cheek delicately, soothing her as she passed on.

She died happy and content.

* * *

Sumire was buried on a mound of land in the center of the lake, surrounded by the flowers that witnessed her death. Kurama carved a marker out of stone with her name to serve as her head rest and laid down freshly picked peonies from the field and onto the mound of dirt that was her grave. Little Sakura was placed in a sling across his chest and squirmed, being fussy but not crying. He stood in front of his friends grave and clasped his hands together in prayer. Kurama does not know if there is a god watching over him, or any at all. But he prays that his friend has found peace. He prays to his creator, his own father, that she is happy and that she will watch over him.

Little Sakura has found one of the fox's hair strands in her reach and tugs on it, tiny hand clasped tightly around the piece. Kurama hisses and glares down at the baby and yank's his hair free from the gremlin's grasp. She stares wide eyes at him and he fears that she might cry, but she doesn't. She just gurgles happily, little chubby arms flailing as she tries to grab hold of it again but Kurama instead gives her his finger to clutch. And she does. She clutches that finger tight and her jade eyes are sparkling up at him. Kurama grunts and fights down the small smile trying to appear on his face and finally takes in the sight of this human baby he's carrying. Her nose is small, her lips cupid shape, her forehead a little too big and she has a tuft of pink hair that is obnoxious and truly an eye sore. Kurama clicks his tongue. She's the ugliest child he has ever set his eyes on yet, he can't deny that she's kinda cute to look at. 

And as he walks back towards the temple with the bundle in his harms, tiny hands still clutched around his one finger. There is one thing he will admit openly and agree with Sumire.

Sakura did have the prettiest shade of green eyes he had ever seen. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I believe no matter how tough a person is or in this case, a tailed beast is. No matter how much mankind attacked and tried to use them as tools for their own greed, I believe that they would crumble to pieces when they experience nothing but kindness and compassion like Sumire had for Kurama. That's why he was so conflicted in why he was feeling the way he did, because he's supposed to hate humans but he can't hate Sumire because she understands him and was so nice to him. and wasn't scared of him.
> 
> anyway, its been established that Kurama is just a big softy who wants to be accepted and doesn't like to be alone but acts all tough on the outside. He's like a pineapple.
> 
> okaybye.♡


End file.
